Games with Gold: March 2014

Is it March already? Why, yes it is. And that means some more free Xbox Live games on tap for Xbox 360 users. Up this month, "Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution" and "Dungeon Defenders."

As you may recall, Microsoft has been giving Xbox Live Gold subscribers two free Xbox 360 games each month since mid-2013. But each Games with Gold giveaway is a time-limited download. So you can download the first of this month's offerings from March 1 (last Saturday) through March 15. And then the next from March 16 through March 31.

Starting March 1: Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution

Microsoft description: "Legendary game designer Sid Meier brings the greatest strategy game of all time to the Xbox 360 console! Built from the ground up for the Xbox 360 console, Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution challenges you to lead your chosen nation from the dawn of man to the space age on your quest to rule the world. Go head to head with history's greatest leaders as you wage war, conduct diplomacy, discover new technologies and build the most powerful empire the world has ever known. The famously addictive gameplay, endless ways to play and Xbox LIVE multiplayer competitions, matchmaking, Leaderboards, Achievements and downloadable content will keep you coming back for more."

Starting March 16: Dungeon Defenders

Microsoft description: "An ancient evil has been unleashed on the land of Etheria and it’s up to you to defend it in this online (and offline) action RPG! Create your own hero from one of four distinct classes to summon towers and traps and fight back hordes of enemies! Customize and level your hero by defeating enemies, looting equipment and upgrading your gear and pets. Take your character through multiple difficulty modes and challenge/survival missions to earn more experience & even better treasure. To top it off, you can do all of this with up to 4 friends on the same console or over Xbox LIVE! With the content of a full retail release and graphics powered by Unreal Engine 3, Dungeon Defenders is one of the true AAA downloadable titles available on Xbox LIVE!"

Discuss this Article 2

I have to admit, they've gotten some great games really quickly. I'm sure selling DLC has something to do with that, but I'm still impressed they went from 0 games to Halo, Civ Rev, GoW and sleeping dogs in half a year. It really makes up for the netflix requirement, as a casual gamer I hardly ever buy new anyway so these free titles have been perfect.

The mandatory charges are the reason I haven't purchased an Xbox. I barely play online games and really have no interest in playing more. Considering my Xbox becomes essentially a useless piece of plastic without gold... i just can't do it.

Let me say I was ready to leave Sony. I hated the way they crippled the functionality of my PS3, left me for weeks without service, lost my user information to hackers, and forced me to update every time I used the damn thing. I was fed up.

I'm also a huge MS fan. I have Win 8.1 desktop, a Surface Pro, a Nokia Lumia 920, I was going to go all in with Xbox.... and then came mandatory charges. No thanks. I should be their perfect target market for a user leaving PS3 and moving to Xbox, but instead I'm just giving up on modern consoles (I did get a Wii U for the kids).

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